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The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim |OT| Het Kos Dovahhe

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Teknoman

Member
~Kinggi~ said:
technically all Dungeons in Oblivion were unique as well. It was an advertised feature.

As long as all the dungeons are somewhat visually different/different themes, i'm good. I expect some similar, but not to where they feel the same.

Also awesome weapon and spell impact noises please.
 

Gravijah

Member
MMaRsu said:
Goddamnit I'm not supposed to be spending ANY money right now, yet I have a mind to pick this up in an hour lol.. ( ps3). I wouldnt be able to play this much when Assassins Creed comes out, because my roommate will want to use the Ps3. Although after he's cleared the story I should be good with Skyrim again. Still have Dark Souls to finish, but on the 20th I'm getting 60 euro's each month...so yeaaaa

Dont talk me into it GAF with your sweet impressions and good review scores/pictures!

wait, pick it up in an hour?
 

GlamFM

Banned
I bought every Bethesda game on 360, played it for one or two hours, hated it and stopped.
I really want to like them - but something always holds me back.

Fore some reason I think this one will change that.

Will pick it up later today. Can´t wait.
 

MMaRsu

Member
Gravijah said:
wait, pick it up in an hour?

Stores in The Netherlands are apparantly selling it today. I wasnt gonna pick it up on the 11th because then I'd only have 4 days to play it till ACR comes out but now..
 

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
Got the game a couple days early through work. Played a couple hours tonight. I basically accomplished nothing besides the first dungeon - it was great!

First dungeon is very epic, with several different distinct areas with unique enemies as you descend deeper. Some mini-bosses, etc. But I suspect Bethesda knew it was going to be most people's first dungeon, since a sidequest sends you right there. So I'm not expecting that quality or variance to hold up, no matter what the company has promised.

Random spoiler-free thoughts:

-Dual-wielding destructive magic as a magic-strong race seems pretty OP. I burnt everything down in seconds before it could even reach me.

- But on the flip side, for the few enemies that it DIDN'T kill, I was kinda boned. Magicka drained, getting wailed on, etc. But it's still not a huge deal to pause and equip a sword / shield.

- Hotkey system is a godsend on 360. Super easy to swap healing magic in and out, or even things like swap in a bow for a stealth first strike, then switch right back to magic, etc.

- After the first town not city, TOWN, I now have seven sidequests in my log, pointing to different areas of the map. Feels good, man. I plan on wandering around, letting the sidequests pile up for as long as possible. Protip: talk to innkeepers if you want quests. They know what's what.

(minor, non-specific early-game spoiler)
- I like that this game eases you into the main questline. Oblivion was a little hokey with its "chosen one" stuff. Skyrim's start has a better feel. You're just a guy. Maybe destiny and greatness comes later, but at least at the START there's no urgency.

- The dungeon I cleared now has a little (cleared) indicator next to it on the world map, which I thought was a nice touch.

- Don't expect miracles here, folks. This is still a sequel to Oblivion, on the same hardware no less. You'll spend a very large portion of your play time having lengthy disjointed conversations with NPCs. Conversations that either reference people, places or events you lack the context to understand, or conversations that repeat points you've already heard 5x b/c there's information Bethesda needs you to have but they don't know which NPCs you'll choose to talk to.

- I also encountered plenty of that trademark Bethesda jank, including one broken puzzle that required me to restart from an earlier save. Most of the bugs aren't as serious - woman NPC stuck in a wall, someone standing DIRECTLY in between me and the NPC I'm conversing with, forcing me to stare at the back of their head, etc.

So, I don't mean to come off as too negative. I'm just saying... even with the awesome new interface, (I loooove it), the awesome new perk/leveling system (ditto), the much-improved lockpicking minigame, the improved crafting... even with all that, this is still an Oblivion sequel. This basically feels like a better, more refined version of that game. I don't think it will win over Oblivion's detractors, based on my first few hours.
 

exhume

Member
Word on the street here in Australia is that EBgames might be selling this on Wednesday. I'ma get up bright and early tomorrow to find out for myself.

Hope I'm not getting any EB employees in trouble by mentioning this. ;)
 

Lakitu

st5fu
GDJustin said:

Thanks for the impressions! Since you have the 360 version, have you installed the game and if so have you noticed textures not loading up on your character's weapons and arms?
 

EviLore

Expansive Ellipses
Staff Member
GDJustin said:
So, I don't mean to come off as too negative. I'm just saying... even with the awesome new interface, (I loooove it), the awesome new perk/leveling system (ditto), the much-improved lockpicking minigame, the improved crafting... even with all that, this is still an Oblivion sequel. This basically feels like a better, more refined version of that game. I don't think it will win over Oblivion's detractors, based on my first few hours.

Thanks for the dispassionate impressions, always useful.
 

Teknoman

Member
GDJustin or anyone that can answer, how does the combat feel? When you hit an enemy with a sword, axe, or blunt object, does it actually "feel" like you hit the enemy? Also how are the weapon/spell sounds?
 

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
Lakitu said:
Thanks for the impressions! Since you have the 360 version, have you installed the game and if so have you noticed textures not loading up on your character's weapons and arms?

Can't weigh in on this unfortunately - my 360 hard drive is full.
 

Mastperf

Member
GDJustin said:
Can't weigh in on this unfortunately - my 360 hard drive is full.
How well does it perform from dvd? How are the load times and does it have the pauses and hitches that Oblivion had while traveling on horse back?
 

MMaRsu

Member
Teknoman said:
GDJustin or anyone that can answer, how does the combat feel? When you hit an enemy with a sword, axe, or blunt object, does it actually "feel" like you hit the enemy? Also how are the weapon/spell sounds?

It sure didn't look that much improved from the vids I've seen, but hey i'll need to play it to say. You know what, I'll tell you in about an hour :p.
 

Eusis

Member
I enjoyed it a lot but recognized its flaws, and I think at least the character building side of those have been largely addressed going by what people have said. HOWEVER, I'm curious if there's a lot more variety in the world compared to Oblivion or Fallout 3, or if it's as repetitive as ever.
 

Teknoman

Member
MMaRsu said:
It sure didn't look that much improved from the vids I've seen, but hey i'll need to play it to say. You know what, I'll tell you in about an hour :p.

Awesome. And yeah Oblivion but better does sound cool. IV had some great ideas and promises, but some just fell flat. Hopefully the battle themes are as invigorating as the main theme/theme used in trailers.
 

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
Teknoman said:
GDJustin or anyone that can answer, how does the combat feel? When you hit an enemy with a sword, axe, or blunt object, does it actually "feel" like you hit the enemy? Also how are the weapon/spell sounds?

I'm mostly a magic user so I can't comment too much. The magic itself has pretty bonkers sound design, though. It is LOUD and sounds powerful, as it should. Fire "whooshes" satisfyingly, etc. In fact it's almost annoyingly loud, ha. I'll probably turn down effects sound the next time I play. It's a good thing though. Magic is a force and it should sound like one.

The combat def. feels weightier and more "in your face" than Oblivion did. But it doesn't feel like a different game. It feels a little slower and heavier than Obivion so it's not as easy to dart in, swing, and dart out. I think you have to actually block more.

The first person game that I feel best nailed the feeling of combat truly being a "desperate struggle" is Bioshock, and I don't think Skyrim is at that level.
 

thetrin

Hail, peons, for I have come as ambassador from the great and bountiful Blueberry Butt Explosion
NBtoaster said:
Oblivion was the best rpg I had played until Fallout 3, so that doesn't bother me :3
I kinda thought Fallout 3 sucked, but I do agree that Oblivion was awesome.
 

Teknoman

Member
GDJustin said:
I'm mostly a magic user so I can't comment too much. The magic itself has pretty bonkers sound design, though. It is LOUD and sounds powerful, as it should. Fire "whooshes" satisfyingly, etc. In fact it's almost annoyingly loud, ha. I'll probably turn down effects sound the next time I play. It's a good thing though. Magic is a force and it should sound like one.

The combat def. feels weightier and more "in your face" than Oblivion did. But it doesn't feel like a different game. It feels a little slower and heavier than Obivion so it's not as easy to dart in, swing, and dart out. I think you have to actually block more.

The first person game that I feel best nailed the feeling of combat truly being a "desperate struggle" is Bioshock, and I don't think Skyrim is at that level.

Yeah the first Bioshock nailed that, but good that the spells feel like powerful attacks. Heavier combat is nice too. I know its probably no Demon's Souls/Dark Souls, but its probably hard do capture that feel in first person with melee weapons. Dead Island almost had it, but some of the animations there are off.

So far sounds good though. Going to be a Redguard, and because of the skill system, I should have a better time being a mixed style character.
 

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
Mastperf said:
How well does it perform from dvd? How are the load times and does it have the pauses and hitches that Oblivion had while traveling on horse back?

Load times are present but not too bad. They're annoying, but I'm coming off of Uncharted which sets the standard for loading-free gameplay in that regard. It doesn't feel great to go into a small interior, say, an inn, and have the game stop to load. But they seem to be pretty short, even streaming off the disk.

Menus seem to load up super quickly, which is essential. No loading that I could see when using the "wait" command.

There are some overall performance hitches, though. Game stutters badly when opening most books, for example.
 
Eusis said:
I'm curious if there's a lot more variety in the world compared to Oblivion or Fallout 3, or if it's as repetitive as ever.

Yeah, there's definitely a lot more variety to the world than in Oblivion. Also, I think the lighting and weather effects help to differentiate things, as the same area can look drastically different under different conditions.
 

QisTopTier

XisBannedTier
I'm really interested in this but I'm not sure if I want it or not. Have they done massive overhauls to the combat engine at all? I love the mods and stuff but the fighting started to feel a little stale after a while. Then again I only stuck around for oblivion for the first 6 months.

I ask cause watching videos and stuff doesn't really tell me too much as I wasnt super super into it. So I'm asking the experts/ hard core fans on the matter.
 

GDJustin

stuck my tongue deep inside Atlus' cookies
It should be noted that my impressions are very early, in Elder Scrolls terms. 2 hours would be 25% through Uncharted but in Skyrim, I haven't ridden a horse, used a shout, fought a dragon, etc etc.

So, part of the reason this feels like an Oblivion sequel could probably fairly be that I haven't gotten to the game's biggest differentiating features yet.
 
MY mind is Shattered that NOBODY out there who has the game.. is willing to try and BETTER their experience by at least TRYING to uninstall and reinstall after downloading the patch... I mean my holy christ either the game is that good that they can't stop playing for ten minutes.....or people are willing to play a triple A game with subpar graphics for absolutely no reason.. This makes me both sad and extremely irritated...
 

Hawkian

The Cryptarch's Bane
In my little mucking about in Oblivion so far, the melee combat is far and away the weak point by a huge margin. It's confusing to me that the combat is obviously designed around an action style of play, with collision detection and strong/weak attacks, etc., yet enemies respond in MMO fashion, with no reaction on hit, as though damage and hit/miss were being calculated with dicerolls on each swing. Skyrim looks better, the finishers seem satisfying at least, and it's nicer to look at at least, but it was definitely good for me to play a little bit of this and temper my expectations for this aspect of the game. I'm sure it's been talked to death, but the Souls games really are untouched in this regard.
 

Fjordson

Member
GDJustin said:
- Hotkey system is a godsend on 360. Super easy to swap healing magic in and out, or even things like swap in a bow for a stealth first strike, then switch right back to magic, etc.

- After the first town not city, TOWN, I now have seven sidequests in my log, pointing to different areas of the map. Feels good, man. I plan on wandering around, letting the sidequests pile up for as long as possible. Protip: talk to innkeepers if you want quests. They know what's what..
Thanks for the impressions. These two points in particular are great to hear.
 
And just for the record... Yes i would try the above-mentioned remedy that I am trying to get others to do... It would honestly put hundreds of peoples minds at ease by trying a simple and intuitive fix of uninstalling after the patch.. and reinstalling to check textures... It's just common decency .. and yes i'm buying both PC and Xbox versions... I won't be buying xbox until someone at least tries this or it gets fixed officially
 
civilstrife said:
Anyone have any details on how
werewolves
work exactly?

I've literally just
turned into a werewolf
for the first time - it's initiated through the
Companions/Fighter's Guild
quest-line and works the same as a shout (assigned to R2). Pressing R2 again
causes you to roar at enemies, which marks them with a scent trail so you can easily follow them if they run away.
As a
werewolf you can't access the menus, also your health doesn't auto-regenerate, so you have to feed on corpses to heal (which also extends your bloodlust, allowing you to stay in werewolf form for longer)
 
Bootaaay said:
I've literally just
turned into a werewolf
for the first time - it's initiated through the
Companions/Fighter's Guild
quest-line and works the same as a shout (assigned to R2). Pressing R2 again
causes you to roar at enemies, which marks them with a scent trail so you can easily follow them if they run away.
As a
werewolf you can't access the menus, also your health doesn't auto-regenerate, so you have to feed on corpses to heal (which also extends your bloodlust, allowing you to stay in werewolf form for longer)

awesome thanks!

that post combined with your avatar pic gets me so stoked :)
 

KAP151

Member
exhume said:
Word on the street here in Australia is that EBgames might be selling this on Wednesday. I'ma get up bright and early tomorrow to find out for myself.

Hope I'm not getting any EB employees in trouble by mentioning this. ;)

I need this game, spill the beans buddy. As soon as EB sells it, I can pick up my game from JB.
 
exhume said:
Word on the street here in Australia is that EBgames might be selling this on Wednesday. I'ma get up bright and early tomorrow to find out for myself.

Hope I'm not getting any EB employees in trouble by mentioning this. ;)

Fuck. I've got no money. I'm still not done with Batman, Dark Souls and Uncharted 3. I've barely had a chance to touch Battlefield 3. And yet, I must buy this game. And Skyward Sword. And AC: Revelations. And Mario Kart 7.

;_;
 

Mastperf

Member
Johnny2Bags said:
And just for the record... Yes i would try the above-mentioned remedy that I am trying to get others to do... It would honestly put hundreds of peoples minds at ease by trying a simple and intuitive fix of uninstalling after the patch.. and reinstalling to check textures... It's just common decency .. and yes i'm buying both PC and Xbox versions... I won't be buying xbox until someone at least tries this or it gets fixed officially
Yeah, it's only 3.8 GB and would only take about 5 min. to reinstall. Don't give up hope yet I'm sure one of the regular members will help us out before long.
 

Chiggs

Gold Member
GDJustin said:
So, I don't mean to come off as too negative. I'm just saying... even with the awesome new interface, (I loooove it), the awesome new perk/leveling system (ditto), the much-improved lockpicking minigame, the improved crafting... even with all that, this is still an Oblivion sequel. This basically feels like a better, more refined version of that game. I don't think it will win over Oblivion's detractors, based on my first few hours.

This sounds about right. Bethesda is downright lazy at times, and anything that comes out of Todd Howard's mouth, in terms of PR, should be taken with a huge grain of salt.

It literally took 7 hours for Oblivion to become a boring shitfest. I'm expecting similar results from Skyrim.
 

exhume

Member
KAP151 said:
I need this game, spill the beans buddy. As soon as EB sells it, I can pick up my game from JB.
'Fraid it's just what an employee told me when I went in yesterday to ask about a midnight launch. Apparently if it doesn't drop Wednesday, there'll be midnight launches in selected stores. But he was heavily hinting that they'd break street date as soon as it arrives.
 

Mastperf

Member
GDJustin said:
Load times are present but not too bad. They're annoying, but I'm coming off of Uncharted which sets the standard for loading-free gameplay in that regard. It doesn't feel great to go into a small interior, say, an inn, and have the game stop to load. But they seem to be pretty short, even streaming off the disk.

Menus seem to load up super quickly, which is essential. No loading that I could see when using the "wait" command.

There are some overall performance hitches, though. Game stutters badly when opening most books, for example.
Thanks for the info.
 
exhume said:
Word on the street here in Australia is that EBgames might be selling this on Wednesday. I'ma get up bright and early tomorrow to find out for myself.

Hope I'm not getting any EB employees in trouble by mentioning this. ;)

EB have to do what they can to keep afloat. I'm still aghast and impressed they manage to keep running as a company. Their prices for new, blockbuster games are scandalous ($100-$110AUD)
 

Lakitu

st5fu
Chiggs said:
This sounds about right. Bethesda is downright lazy at times, and anything that comes out of Todd Howard's mouth, in terms of PR, should be taken with a huge grain of salt.

It literally took 7 hours for Oblivion to become a boring shitfest. I'm expecting similar results from Skyrim.

Not for me. Oblivion got better as it went along, quests opening up, more exploration. All Elder Scrolls games start out slowly. I expect the same from Skyrim.
 

-tetsuo-

Unlimited Capacity
Thanks for the impressions, GD. See if you can get us some impressions on the dungeons. Dying to know if they have veered back to the Morrowind style.
 

exhume

Member
Pixel Pete said:
EB have to do what they can to keep afloat. I'm still aghast and impressed they manage to keep running as a company. Their prices for new, blockbuster games are scandalous ($100-$110AUD)
Totally. I'm hoping it will drop on Wednesday, because that means it'll probably drop Wednesday everywhere and I can get it for $79 from Target, the cheapest retailer I've managed to find that isn't an import. Don't want to wait on potential delays from importers.
 
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